Dragons 101
by fangirl112
Summary: This is the guide to the dragons I created for my story "Dragon Princess"


Hello everyone. I know why you're here, you're here to learn about dragons right? Right. So let's cut to the chase and find out some cool fact's and info about dragons. Ready? Here we go.

**Appearance:** Dragons have a head that is shaped somewhat like a horse. Because of this dragon's have very strong bite forces. A dragon's neck is like a horse's but more straight and less thick. Dragon's eyes are medium sized. Not to small and not too big in comparison to its head, but there is something special about their eyes. A dragons eyes can be any color of the rainbow, and their pupils are slitted like a snakes, and react to the amount of light in the area. This means that twin dragons can have absolutely different eye colors no matter who their parents are.

Above a dragon's eye's on its forehead rest's a jewel. This jewel is very special. It can change color. The jewel can be either diamond or oval shaped. The purpose of it is to reflect a dragons current mood. A dragon has 6 limbs all together. Two wings, and four legs. The back legs are positioned slightly higher than the front legs giving them a slight waddling appearance when they walk. Dragons also have scales. Their scales are soft to the touch, you could run your hand down a dragons side and feel no resistance at all. This is the cause of oil that dragon skin secrets to make sure that there is no drag when they fly. Along with their scales dragons have some feathers on their bodies. At the top of the head are a beautiful crest of feathers that sweep back.

All dragons have markings on their wings, and legs, sometimes even on their tails. Females have bands on these areas that are either lighter or darker than their main color. The same is true for the males except their designs are often more intricate and beautiful so as to attract a mate. When in the dark or in danger the dragons markings will glow with a light made of bioluminescent bacteria that is created within their own bodies. Their tail is long and thin so as to act like a rudder in flight. On the end of the tail are a cluster of feathers. They aid in the rudder like action of the tail. Their wings are broad and have a membrane that stretches from the base of the front shoulder to the hip that helps put as much air under them as possible. The fronts of the wings are lined with feathers that slowly fade into the membrane. Depending on the breed of dragon the membrane can be built for speed and maneuverability or for stamina.

Dragons have retractable claws just like those of a cat. On the bottom of their feet they have fleshy pads so they can sense vibrations in the ground to help them to hunt better. Dragons also have a pair of horns and a pair of ears. All dragon types have different horns, but dragons of the same type tend to have the same kind of horns.

**Behavior:** Dragons are very territorial animals. They mostly live alone for their whole lives except for a few groups of females who might come together. If they do find someone else on their territory they will fight. They will fight until either the opponent gives in and runs away or dies. Though deaths rarely happen seeing as how these fights are often short and don't last too long. They usually last for about 5 to 10 minutes at max. Female dragons will go far and wide to find just the right male to father her offspring. She will travel hundreds of miles, and when she finds the right male they will stay together until the eggs hatch. Rival adult make dragons usually destroy another males eggs to reduce competition, but this rarely happens because there is usually one parent guarding the eggs while the other is out hunting.

**Jewel Color :** A dragon's jewel change's color according to it's mood. Here are the various colors and what mood they represent

Red: Anger

Orange: Irritation/Battle

Yellow: Fear

Green/Blue: Happy/Content

Purple: Lust

Gray: Sadness

White: Pain

**Type:** There are different types of dragons; so far these are the few that are known to man.

Storm: The storm type dragons are the smallest but they are the absolute fastest dragons. They are 15-20 meters long. The storm type dragons are grey shades with yellow or blue markings. They can shoot controlled blasts of lightning that can stun prey for a moment or longer which is all they need. They tend to live in coastal areas where fish live which are what makes up most of their diet besides meat and fruit.

Forest: The forest type of dragon tends to live in dense woodland/jungles that borders mountainous regions. They are small kinds of dragons and they are very fast, but don't let that fool you, they are not lightweights. They are 20-25 meters long. They have a special ability to spit a corrosive acid that is highly dangerous, and can either numb or poison you, sometimes its a mix of both. They are usually every shade of green.

Ice: Ice type dragons tend to live on the snowy peaks of mountains. They can breath a freezing jet of water that solidifies on contact. They are a little bigger than forest types being around 25-30 meters long. They tend to be more middleweight-size dragons. They are usually white or around a very light/muted blue with darker blue markings.

Fire: The type everyone knows about. What kind of guide would this be without fire-breathing dragons? Now these big boys are somewhere between 30-35 meters long. Fire types are leaning on the heavyweight side of dragons meaning that they have more stamina and strength but less speed and maneuverability. They tend to be red with brown or orange markings. Fire types tend to live near volcanoes, and other hot places.

**Diet:** Dragons are omnivorous and will eat livestock, wild game, and fish along with fruit, and wild berries. Dragons are known to prey on other apex predators as they are the only one big enough to do so. Dragons have been known to resort to cannibalism in extreme situations. Dragons will pick the fruit off of trees and bury it to save it for later to eat it with their main meal of meat that they catch themselves. Depending on the size of the dragon it determines how much it eats. An example of this is if you have a storm type, a fire type, and a herd of deer. A fire type will eat 4 to 5 deer while a storm will eat 1 or 2 at the most, though it all depends on the individual.

**The Bond:** The bond. The bond is in essence the bonding of the mind, body, and soul of a dragon and human partner. The bond is a special connection that a person cannot describe using words alone. You have to experience it to understand it. When you become bonded to a dragon you will be bonded for life, the only way to break the bond is with death. If the rider dies so does the dragon, but if the dragon dies the rider may live, but no longer whole. Your dragon is your soul, your perfect other half. Only certain people can be bonded to a dragon, people who have high empathy ratings or people who are good with animals or other people. When a person becomes dragon-bonded they will wake up next morning with a tribal tattoo the same color of their dragon. It is on the right shoulder for females and the left shoulders for males.

When it comes to bonding, male dragons tend to bond to males, and female dragons to females. But occasionally there tends to be a female dragon who choose a male or a male dragon choosing a female. This has led to a more relaxed view on sexuality in the academy, and as such it has become sort of a haven for people who are gay or bisexual.

Dragons also live a very long time. The max life span for a dragon is 300 years. If a human bonds with a dragon they will have their life span expanded considerably, and a person who is dragon bonded will age considerably slower than a normal human would.

**The Academy:** The academy is where a person goes if they want to learn the ways of the dragonriders. The academy also serves as a home for the dragonriders. The leaders of the academy are the four oldest riders, one for each type of dragon. They are known as the grandmasters. A grandmaster is chosen for their wisdom, and experience, so that they may be able to guide everyone in a time of need if there ever is one. The academy is situated in a small mountain range just west of the capitol city of the kingdom of Gale. It was said that the academy was built hundreds of years age by an unknown architect who had a vision that one day there would be a use for it. The academy is a castle like structure that is built into a mountainside for stability, because of all the people and dragons living there the academy has a very large support staff, numbering in the thousands. Generally there are two female and two male grandmasters at the same time. The females tend to oversee the cooking, cleaning, and raising of children in the academy while the men see to the defense, offense, and teaching schedule of the pupils.


End file.
